Ominously, banks profits were up on the higher fees they charge you and me for simple services, but were down on job-creating investments. Most ominous of all perhaps, given how much work the Fed has done to reinflate construction, earnings and revenues were both down at Caterpillar.

If you're not seeing a trend here, I just spent a lot of time on Google News for no good reason.

The belated jobs report was no more comforting. Just 148,000 new jobs created in September, with unemployment barely dipping to 7.2%, Our own Tom Blumer reports:

September’s report shows that the economy was already slowing down considerably before the partial shutdown commenced. Employers added only 148,000 jobs in September, down from 193,000 in August. The BLS’s Household Survey showed only 133,000 jobs added. Sure, the unemployment rate dropped to a seasonally adjusted 7.2 percent, but that’s only because a paltry 73,000 adults joined the workforce following a decline of over 300,000 in August.

September’s private-sector job growth was only 126,000, down from 161,000 in August. During the third quarter, monthly private job growth averaged only 129,000, down substantially from averages of 190,000 in the second quarter and 212,000 in the first.

As Tom noted later in his column, 30% of the new jobs created since President Obama was sworn in are temp positions — easy to hire, easier to fire.

Which is the crux of our problem, and why earnings are missing while profits are soaring.